I have to admit it.
Every time I look at California Governor Gavin Newsom, I am reminded of the stereotype of the slick car salesman. My colleague Jennifer Oliver O'Connell calls it “the governor's hair gel,” and it's true. Moreover, the hand movements are worse than those of the House Minority Leader, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8). They can really drive a person to madness.
I think you see all of this on full display during his interview with Kristen Welker on NBC's “Meet the Press,” which aired Sunday.
Welker asked him why he wanted to become president, and Newsom said no.
Newsom: “There's nothing I don't like more than a politician who sits there and lies to you. We all just sit there and roll our eyes.” pic.twitter.com/cg6dupzFG9
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 2, 2025
“I don't know,” Newsom said.
“I don't suppose so. This was in response to somebody talking about it, and I – there's nothing I don't like more than a politician sitting there and lying to you. And we all just sit there, rolling our eyes and saying, “Give me a break.”
Can I say to this: “Give me a break, Governor?” He's the guy who doesn't want to admit he's going to run, but does everything he can to make it clear he's going to run. So it's funny to hear him talk about other politicians lying and rolling their eyes, even when he's trying to sell us on it and rolling his eyes.
Then he stumbled over another question from Welker. She asked if he ever had concerns about Joe Biden's abilities.
The only exception to my interactions with him that gave me pause was a fundraiser in Southern California. And we were all a little puzzled. But we also remembered that he was in Europe twice in about a week, and by the grace of God, any of us are jet-lagged and tired. This man came back that night of the debate and it certainly gave us all pause.
KRISTEN WELKER: If that gave you pause after the debate, why didn't you sound the alarm then?
Newsom said he did so “privately.”
Welker pressed a little more.
Gavin Newsom skims around trying to explain why he's defending Joe Biden's ability to run for a second term:
Welker: You supported him until the end. Did you ever have any doubts about his ability to last another four years?
Newsom: “I’ve never had anything like this.”
Welker: You… pic.twitter.com/VwpP06B5RP
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 2, 2025
KRISTEN WELKER: Governor, did you reasonably believe that he was capable of serving as president until January 2029?
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: Yeah, I think I was focused on the situation, to be honest. This was done to prevent Donald Trump from returning to office and experiencing everything that we are experiencing today. And I haven't had a single interaction that would suggest otherwise.
KRISTEN WELKER: What do you say to Americans who feel misled by you and other leading Democrats?
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: In what ways were you misled? He decided to resign…
KRISTEN WELKER: – As for President Biden's mental acuity, they wish you would have sounded the alarm sooner to allow for an open convention.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: I've never experienced this – look, I'm not going to replace myself with anyone else or public opinion. I'm going to express how I feel about my truth with the former President of the United States, including at the end of his term, literally in December, which was a master class in foreign and domestic policy that I will never forget as we go through not only elections, but we navigate the world in which we live. There was nothing to suggest what you just said or others have suggested in terms of my interaction. That's all I can be responsible for.
“Situational” means it was about defeating Trump and not about Biden’s insight? Newsom says there were no interactions with Biden that “indicate otherwise” about Biden's abilities, immediately after Newsom spoke about the fundraising and debate that gave him pause. The idiot car salesman looks up. He wanted to express “his truth” about his relationship with Biden. Sorry Gavin, there is no “your truth” or “my truth”, there is only the truth. And that doesn't reflect well on the Democrats.
What would it mean then if we could all see what you now claim you didn't see? No matter how you look at it, it's not good.
Welker then asked him why he thought Kamala Harris lost. His answer was interesting because he listed some of the real reasons why people had problems with her. It was very nice of him to point them all out.
I don't know. I'm thinking about this. I think over time we will have more mutual understanding. Let's start with inflation. We can talk about interest rates. We don't talk about interest rates enough. We could talk about positions. We could talk about Israel. We could talk about immigration and the border. There are many listings we can look through. We could talk about Joe Rogan. We could talk about revival. We could talk about 107 days. We can talk about the absence of open primaries. We could talk about “The View”. Again, I'm on page six of 24 pages. And how to unpack that, how to put it together in terms of everything else, I think requires a little more forensics, a little more analysis.
Of course, he didn't mention that she was a terrible candidate coming out of an administration that failed. So this is a small problem.
Welker asked him about how Harris appeared to grumble in her book about not calling her back when she called for support after Biden dropped out of the race.
KRISTEN WELKER: In her book, the former vice president writes that she went out of her way to reach out to prominent Democrats in the hours after President Biden dropped out of the race. And she said you answered her call with, quote, “Gavin Newsom: Hiking. I'll call you back.” He never did.” Is this what happened?
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: 100%. And a few minutes after that I sent the approval. I was one of her first supporters, the reason she called. I've known Kamala all my life. The last person she needs to turn to is me. So, I heard the news and wanted to contact the Biden guys. I was on a real hike. I said, “Kamala, you need to call a million people,” and we literally worked while she reached out. By the way, it was a voice message, the number is unknown. And when she got ready for the next call, we were already preparing our press release supporting her. So I don't even know why this was even in the book.
He didn't seem entirely happy that it was included in the book. However, he said that he had known her for many years and noted that it did not upset him.
It will be an interesting interaction if they both enter the 2028 race.
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